Top scores for local mental health service

Date published: 15 October 2009

Mental health services for local people have been rated ‘excellent’ for the third year running by the government watchdog in charge of the NHS.

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, which provides a range of mental health services across Rochdale, Bury, Oldham, Stockport, Tameside and Glossop scored the top grade of ‘excellent’ for ‘quality of services’ and ‘excellent’ for Quality of Financial Management in the Care Quality Commission’s Annual Health Check.

This year only 37 Trusts out of 392 achieved a double 'excellent' score, putting Pennine Care in the top 10% of Trusts in England.

The Annual Health Check assesses NHS Trusts on all aspects of the care that they deliver, including the quality of the services they provide to patients and the public, and how well they manage their finances and other resources such as their property and staff.

Chief Executive, John Archer, said: "2008/09 has been a highly successful year for Pennine Care – the highlight of which was becoming the 100th NHS Foundation Trust – but there have been other significant successes.

"The Trust’s specialist services (Forensic services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and Drug and Alcohol Services) continue to develop. Building on last year’s decision by the North West Specialist Commissioners to award Pennine Care the status of preferred provider for Low Secure services, the Trust now plans to build a new purpose-built 44-bedded Low Secure Unit in Rochdale. The Unit, to be built at Birch Hill Hospital, will provide state of the art facilities to treat patients in need of Low Secure rehabilitation services.

“The Trust has continued this year to invest heavily in improving its buildings and facilities, to give patients and staff the best possible environment. In addition to substantially refurbishing inpatient facilities in Rochdale, we have made significant progress implementing standards around privacy and dignity, and improving gender separation on inpatient wards. Work is continuing to improve inpatient facilities in Stockport, Rochdale and Bury, as well as many community premises.

"Our hugely committed team of staff in all departments, divisions and boroughs have worked incredibly hard this year to deliver excellent mental health services, and none of this success would have been possible without them.”